I immensely enjoyed their About page, so I’ll just go ahead an quote a couple of t why the name OBSOLETE!?

In post-post-post-modern society even the term “obsolete” is becoming obsolete- products are obsolete before they hit the market-place, technology is only good as long as its replacement is in beta-testing.

And this beautiful explanation of why a zine in print form was created in the information age of digital everything, where knowledge does not equal wisdom and cultural rigidity is indeed more ripe than we like to admit.

In the early part of the 20th century, Harold Innis, a Canadian media theorist and predecessor of Marshall McCluhan, postulated that great civilizations were those that balanced “time-binding” media (which retain ideas and history), and “space-binding” media (which allows ideas to travel rapidly). He felt, back in the 50’s, that western society was relying too much on space-binding media like radio and television, and that the over-exposure was leading to a culture where “…The emphasis on change is the only permanent characteristic.” He felt that this trend would kill shared experience and local identity and create and atmosphere of paranoia and rigid political militarization. No one knows what Innis would have thought of the internet, but despite all of the great gifts of modern technology, some of Innis’ warnings seem to be coming true. Despite the gushing flow of “free” information, cultural rigidity appears to be setting in.

And lastly, spoken by true Solarpunks:

The books we publish reflect our love for the physical world and the DIY aesthetic.

I’ll add here that digital versions are also available as the good OBSOLETE! peops recognises the digital media!

It’s so worth a read, but if you are strapped for time, here are some standout quotes:

Utopias require that we do the difficult, necessary work of
envisioning a better world. This is why imagination is the first,
best weapon of radicals and progressives.

Fredric Jameson observed, “It is easier to imagine the end of
the world than the end of capitalism” – and the reason for that
is not that capitalism is the inevitable destiny of humankind
but that we have spent our lives being told that even thinking
about any other future makes us ridiculous.

Right now, the future seems dark and frightening and it is
precisely now that we must continue to imagine other worlds
and then plot ways to get there. In the midst of multiple global
crises, the only truly ridiculous proposition is that things are
going to stay exactly the same.

There is plenty of art out there that could be “classified” as Solarpunk, but the genre is still so underground that not many identify with it (yet).

So I will introduce some artists who I would love to label as Solarpunks, even though labels don’t usually sit well with me…more on that in future posts. In the context of Solarpunk though, I am more than happy to label and be labelled, and hopefully so will these wonderfully inspiring individuals that presently form the centre of my artivism focus!

Over the last eight months I have continued to be a lazy blogger. However I do have pretty valid excuses and exciting real-life results to show for it! In short, the laziness has not extended to my real life, rather I have been networking and organising and spending time to create and hold safe but casual space for people to come together and grow…something good.

This is our newly formed Theatre Group after its second workshop – what a great form of human bonding as well as gaining confidence and trust!

Unity. Trust. Creativity. Networks. Community! Cultivating a larger focus on the important things in life.

And that is also part of what The Swarm does. The Swarm was one of the network eddies that has extended its ripples my way, giving me the highly anticipated opportunity to connect with other #solarpunks.

The Swarm is a “new international community of artists, experts, creatives, dreamers, and change makers. We have come together to create new ways to shift the mainstream understanding of what is possible, to help re-invigorate smart campaigns about climate and system change, and link these to the mainstream through the power of arts and culture” (copied from Swarm website – I could not put it any more to the point!).

Now that the new website is going, our newly formed community is really starting to collaborate and brainstorm and empower each other. Exciting events and projects are in the creative pipeline, a new era of artivism is on its way…

Stay tuned and don’t be shy if The Swarm idea resonates in some way or other – this community is all about inclusion and participation. Actually, participation is the only way it will grow and prosper…

I have been writing ‘The last Patriarchs’ since 2009. It has changed a lot and only in the last couple of years have I actually given it the time it deserves, taking off whole weekends (yes, I opted to stay home instead of going on fun camping trips) and generally spending time ‘in retreat’, away from others.

I read the article and butterflies went apeshit in my tummy. I was excited. This was it, this was my genre, finally I had a home for my novel-baby that was cool and memorable (positive future fiction is a great way to define Solarpunk, but on its own it’s just not quite there…). Even though I usually dislike categorising things or people, I feel like a novel without a genre is like a child without parents or something. It’s a bit lost, homeless.

After the above abc article I quickly came across this article by Adam Flynn titled “Solarpunk – notes toward a manifesto” that goes more into the reasons why Solarpunk exists (“We’re solarpunks because the only other options are denial or despair.”) and gives more links to check out for art work and more reading.

I like it. I like it a lot! I like it so much that I get tons of inspiration crawling up and down my spine to get this baby finished and out there, where it should be! Considering a crowd funding mission to take time off work and have three months with just the Vision and I…! Watch this space, peops!!!

Curious about that novel? The first couple of chapters are (kinda) finished!

One of my favourite quotes that keeps me going when the words don’t flow and the whole idea of writing a positive future fiction novel seems silly and overwhelming:

“The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind. It needs people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane. And these qualities have little to do with success as we have defined it.”

David W. Orr

Now I have just published the second chapter of The Vision (see here: Chapter 2 – The Farm or maybe start with the Preface or Chapter 1 – Departure) and am feeling mighty accomplished. But there is so much more to do! On that note, an important lesson over the last 6 months has been:

Don’t let the perfect get in the way of the good.

Exactly. I believe this (or something like this) is by Voltaire but either way, it hits our modern addiction to perfection on the head. I just want to tell this story and I want to tell it now. I don’t want to wait and go the normal way of novels with no guarantee that I will ever get published.

Who cares about a few errors in grammar and spelling when someone is attempting to make our society a fairer, friendlier and more positive place? Is not perfection an illusion anyways? (I will still be very grateful to anyone who spots mistakes and lets me know about them!)

So with that being said, I aim to be productive, not perfect. At least in the short run. After all, this is my crack at inspiring more People to think positively about our future – and time is running out to make the changes that our society needs very badly.

Curious? Here are a few questions answered.

What is The Vision?The Vision is a positive future fiction novel that I have worked on for about the last 5 years.

What is The Vision about? The Vision is set in 2050 in Brisbane, Australia. It is about the members of a family who are going through an extraordinary time in their lives.

Where is the rest of the chapters?I am still writing, editing, changing, tearing up, deleting, re-writing etc…so only the first few chapters are any good for the readers at this point. But stay tuned!

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